Damper device for in-line skate

ABSTRACT

A damper device for an in-line skate is provided, in which an impact caused by a non-uniform road surface during skating is absorbed and buffered in order to realize more stable skating. The damper device includes: a hinge member which is installed at the lower-front portion of a boot and the front portion of a wheel frame, and which is rotatably connected therewith; and a damper which is installed between a fixed bracket which is fixed at the lower-rear portion of the boot and which is extended down to the rear side of an ankle and the rear portion of the wheel frame.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an in-line skate which is well known inthe field of leasure or sports, and more particularly, to a damperdevice for an in-line skate, in which an impact caused by a non-uniformroad surface during skating is absorbed and buffered in order to realizemore stable skating.

2. Description of the Related Art

The moderns are much interested in leisure and sports. According tospread of a five-day working system, spare times are increasing and thusmuch interest to the health grows high. Accordingly, the moderns havetendencies of positively participate in health clubs, fitness centers,or sports activities.

In-line skating is a representative example of sports activities. Inparticular, in-line skating is a favorite sport for young people. Thein-line skating is an aerobic exercise which gives an exercise effectbetter than gymnastic aerobics, and provides people who ride an in-lineskate with much fun. Accordingly, in-line skate dedicated roads arebeing constructed.

When a running surface is uniform and soft, in-line skaters enjoy acomfortable running. However, when a running surface is non-uniform orrugged, an impact transferred from the running surface via the wheels ofin-line skates is directly transferred to the in-line skaters. As aresult, in a severe case, the health of the in-line skaters can bedamaged.

A Korean Utility Model Registration Publication No. 20-0332962 on Nov.03, 2003 has proposed a wheel damper device in order to solve theabove-described problems. The wheel damper device can absorb an impactwhich occurs at the time of collision to obstacles or jumping, in whichthe wheels of an in-line skate can be moved up and down or left andright.

The wheel damper device of the Korean Utility Model RegistrationPublication No. 20-0332962 is provided with a spring member mounted in aspace formed between a skate frame and an ascending and descendingmember. Since the spring member is exposed to outside and is installednear the ground surface, foreign matters can be easily adsorbed andcorrosion can easily occur.

Also, since the spring member is hooked on a hook, the spring member canbe easily separated if a direct blow is applied to the spring member.Also, since wheels are indirectly supported to the in-line skate frame,a support force and a rigidity are lowered.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To solve the above problems, it is an object of the present invention toprovide a damper device for an in-line skate in which an impacttransferred from a road surface during skating can be absorbed andmitigated at a wheel frame using a shock absorber which is mountedupwards at the heel side of a boot, thereby allowing stable skating andsolving problems such as adsorption of foreign matters, corrosion, andstructural unstability.

To accomplish the above object of the present invention, there isprovided a damper device for an in-line skate including a boot, a wheelframe installed in the lower portion of the boot, and a plurality ofwheels which are rotatably mounted in the wheel frame, the damper devicecomprising: a hinge member which is installed at the lower-front portionof the boot and the front portion of the wheel frame, and which isrotatably connected therewith; and a damper which is installed between afixed bracket which is fixed at the lower-rear portion of the boot andwhich is extended down to the rear side of an ankle and the rear portionof the wheel frame.

Preferably, a fixing plate is installed in the lower portion of theboot, in which a fixing pin is installed so as to be detachably coupledvia fixing holes of the fixing plate and the wheel frame, to therebymake an operation of the damper stop as needed.

Also, preferably, the damper comprises: a shock absorber which isintegrally installed in the wheel frame, in which a strut rod which iswithdrawn upwards is connected with a fixing bracket; a lower variablespring support being an adjuster which is rotatably installed around thelower portion of the shock absorber and which comprises a number ofteeth which are engaged with a fixing protrusion in multi-step, tothereby control height; and a coil spring installed between the fixingbracket and the lower variable spring support.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects and advantages of the present invention willbecome more apparent by describing the preferred embodiment thereof inmore detail with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an in-line sake according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the whole structureaccording to the present invention; and

FIG. 3 is a side view of the in-line skate according to the presentinvention, in order to illustrate an operation state of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A damper device for an in-line skate according to a preferred embodimentof the present invention will be described below with reference to theaccompanying drawings.

Referring to FIGS. 1 through 3, an in-line skate to which a damperdevice according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied,includes a boot 1, a wheel frame 3 installed in the lower portion of theboot 1, and a plurality of wheels 5 which are rotatably mounted in thewheel frame 3.

In order to solve the problem that an impact from a road surface isdirectly transferred to an in-line skater as described in theconventional art, the present invention has proposed the damper which ismounted upwards from the wheel frame 3 to the heel side of the boot 1.

Also, in order to realize the up-and-down operation of the damper, ahinge member is installed at the lower-front portion of the boot 1 andthe front portion of the wheel frame 3, and rotate mutually.

The hinge member includes a hinge frame 91 installed in the lowerportion of the boot 1. Engagement holes 93 and 31 are formed in thehinge frame 91 and the wheel frame 3. The hinge frame 91 and the wheelframe 3 can be engaged by a hinge pin 11 a and a hinge nut 11 b via theengagement holes 91 and 31. A bearing 11 c is installed in the hinge pin11 a to make a hinge function more smoothly.

Meanwhile, the damper is installed between a fixed bracket 13 which isfixed at the lower-rear portion of the boot 1 and which is extended downto the rear side of an ankle and the rear portion of the wheel frame 3.The damper is installed in the wheel frame of the in-line skate tothereby solve the conventional problems such as adsorption of foreignmatters, corrosion, and structural unstability.

In more detail, the damper includes a shock absorber 71 which isintegrally installed in the wheel frame 3 by means of an engagement pin15 a and an engagement nut 15 b. A strut rod 71 a which is withdrawnupwards from the shock absorber 71 is connected to a fixing bracket 13.

A low variable spring support (referred to as an adjuster) 73 which canrotate in a forward and reverse directions is installed in the lowercircumference of the shock absorber 71. The adjuster 73 includes anumber of teeth 73 a which are engaged with a fixing protrusion 71 b ofthe shock absorber in multi-step, to thereby control height duringrotation at its axis.

The height control is to control tension of the damper. According tocontrol of the height of the adjuster 73, tension of a coil spring 75installed between the fixing bracket 13 and the lower variable springsupport 73 can be adjusted.

Meanwhile, the damper device according to the present invention can beconstructed to make the operation of the damper stop, as a preferredembodiment of the present invention. For this purpose, a fixing plate 17is installed in the lower portion of the boot 1, and a fixing pin 19 isinstalled so as to be detachably coupled via a fixing hole 17 a of thefixing plate and the fixing hole 33 of the wheel frame 3, to therebymake an operation of the damper stop as needed. The fixing plate 17 isintegrally fixed on the bottom surface of the boot 1 together with thefixing bracket 13 by means of engagement elements such as screws. Here,the fixing hole 17 a through which the fixing pin 19 is engaged isformed in the lower portion 17 c which is extended from the fixing plate17. The lower portion 17 c in which the fixing hole 17 a is formed isinserted into an intermediate space of the wheel frame 3. An additionalsub-bracket 17 d can be further installed in order to compensate for agap between the lower portion 17 c and the wheel frame 3. Also, a malescrew is formed in the end of the fixing pin 19, and a female screw isformed in the fixing hole 33 of the wheel frame 3. Also, the male screwcan be tightened with an additional fixing nut.

Hereinbelow, function of the damper device for an in-line skateaccording to the present invention will be described.

First, in order to make the damper device according to the presentinvention operate, the fixing pin 19 which has been engaged with thewheel frame 3 and the fixing plate 17 is removed. The in-line skate fromwhich the fixing pin 19 has been removed can rotate around the hingemember, and can absorb an impact by the damper.

Meanwhile, when the damper absorbs an impact, the fixing plate 17 andthe wheel frame 3 can contact and be collided with each other. To solvethis problem, the present invention further includes a buffering pad 17b contacting the fixing plate 17.

The damper can heighten tension when the weight of an in-line skater isheavy. For this purpose, the low variable spring support 73 being anadjuster is made to rotate in order to compress the coil spring 75. In areverse case, tension of the coil spring 75 is lowered by sufficientlyextending the coil spring 75.

As described above, the damper device for an in-line skate according tothe present invention can absorb and mitigate an impact transferred froma road surface during skating, since a large-scale damper which ismounted upwards at the heel side of a boot is installed at a wheelframe.

Also, the damper device is installed in each wheel of an in-line skate,thereby solving problems such as adsorption of foreign matters,corrosion, and structural unstability.

Also, tension of the damper which is applied in the present inventioncan be adjusted. Thus, an impact can be precisely absorbed and bufferedin dependence upon the weight of an in-line skater.

As described above, the present invention has been described withrespect to a particularly preferred embodiment. However, the presentinvention is not limited to the above embodiment, and it is possible forone who has an ordinary skill in the art to make various modificationsand variations, without departing off the spirit of the presentinvention.

1. A damper device for an in-line skate including a boot, a wheel frameinstalled in the lower portion of the boot, and a plurality of wheelswhich are rotatably mounted in the wheel frame, the damper devicecomprising: a hinge member which is installed at the lower-front portionof the boot and the front portion of the wheel frame, and which isrotatably connected therewith; and a damper which is installed between afixed bracket which is fixed at the lower-rear portion of the boot andwhich is extended down to the rear side of an ankle and the rear portionof the wheel frame.
 2. The damper device for an in-line skate accordingto claim 1, further comprising a fixing plate which is installed in thelower portion of the boot; and a fixing pin which is installed so as tobe detachably coupled via fixing holes of the fixing plate and the wheelframe.
 3. The damper device for an in-line skate according to claim 1,wherein the damper comprises: a shock absorber which is integrallyinstalled in the wheel frame, in which a strut rod which is withdrawnupwards is connected with a fixing bracket; a lower variable springsupport being an adjuster which is rotatably installed around the lowerportion of the shock absorber and which comprises a number of teethwhich are engaged with a fixing protrusion in multi-step, to therebycontrol height; and a coil spring installed between the fixing bracketand the lower variable spring support.
 4. An in-line skate comprising: aboot; a wheel frame installed in the lower portion of the boot; aplurality of wheels which are rotatably mounted in the wheel frame; ahinge member which is installed at the lower-front portion of the bootand the front portion of the wheel frame, and which is rotatablyconnected therewith; and a damper which is installed between a fixedbracket which is fixed at the lower-rear portion of the boot and whichis extended down to the rear side of an ankle and the rear portion ofthe wheel frame.
 5. The in-line skate according to claim 4, furthercomprising a fixing plate which is installed in the lower portion of theboot; and a fixing pin which is installed so as to be detachably coupledvia fixing holes of the fixing plate and the wheel frame.
 6. The in-lineskate according to claim 4, wherein the damper comprises: a shockabsorber which is integrally installed in the wheel frame, in which astrut rod which is withdrawn upwards is connected with a fixing bracket;a lower variable spring support being an adjuster which is rotatablyinstalled around the lower portion of the shock absorber and whichcomprises a number of teeth which are engaged with a fixing protrusionin multi-step, to thereby control height; and a coil spring installedbetween the fixing bracket and the lower variable spring support.